New Effort to Aid Ex-Bonanno Crime Boss Massino

New York Prosecutors Ask Judge to Reduce Sentence Following Cooperation

By

Sean Gardiner

July 9, 2013 9:07 p.m. ET

Former Bonanno crime family boss Joseph Massino was facing the death penalty in 2004 when he shocked the underworld by becoming the first sitting mafia chief to turn state's witness.

Prosecutors withdrew their death penalty bid. On Wednesday, they will seek even more mercy: They have asked a Brooklyn federal judge to reduce Mr. Massino's prison sentence, the reward for nearly a decade of inside information on a once-impenetrable...